Kenjutsu Kunoichi
by SmilingArtist
Summary: Sakura is apart of a clan in Konoha. She is a determined kunoichi that has to put up with people calling her weak and useless. But what she doesn’t know about is that her clan has a dangerous kekkei genkai that she would soon unlock. -NejiSaku-
1. Prologue: Silent Tears

**Authors Note:  
**Konnichi wa! It's been a long time since I've updated any of my NejiSaku stories. This story is actually my improved version of _Kenjutsu Kunoichi_. Like I said in the other story, I wasn't too happy with the old version so I decided to redo the entire story. Hope you like this one a lot better! Sorry if the first chapter seems a bit short, I'll try and make the next one a bit longer.

**Disclaimer:**  
I do not own Naruto or any of its characters; only this story.

**-X-**

**KENJUTSU KUNOICHI**

**-X-**

**Summary:** Sakura is apart of a clan in Konoha. She is a determined kunoichi that has to put up with people calling her weak and useless. But what she doesn't know about is that her clan has a dangerous kekkei genkai that she would soon unlock.

**Genre:** Action / Adventure / Romance

**Pairing:** NejiSaku

**Speech:**

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

**-X-**

**Prologue  
**_-Silent Tears-_

**-X-**

"Weak!"

"Useless!"

"Ugly!"

Insults were thrown from every direction and were all directed at a girl, sitting on a swing. Her feet dangled from the height as she tried to ignore every single word that has been said. This always happens. The girl's long pink hair covered up her face, preventing the world from seeing her emotionless face that was hidden beneath. Suddenly, she was pushed forward and fell face flat onto the ground. Her beautiful pink hair sprawled over the ground, creating a mess. Behind her stood a girl with purple hair and brown eyes, looking superior.

"Hey there, Sakura?" she sneered.

The pink-haired girl didn't answer nor did she get up from the ground.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

The girl still remained silent. The purple-haired girl frowned. Obviously, she wanted the girl to cry and show some emotion.

_Well then, I'll just have to fix that, _the purple-haired girl thought with a smirk. She turned around to face two boys that were apart of her little gang.

"Teach her a lesson," she commanded.

Just like she ordered, the boys walked over to the pink-haired girl and grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her up. Sakura gritted her teeth but still didn't say anything. The purple-haired girl and her group watched as the two boys kicked and punched the girl everywhere. Sakura bit back a scream as she got hit one after another. The purple-haired girl finally had enough of this 'game' and decided to put an end to it, for now. She let out a fake yawn and sighed.

"Alright, that's enough," she told the two boys.

Immediately they stopped and turned to their 'master'. The girl grinned, enjoying the control she had over these people.

"Let's go," she announced and turned to the battered girl. "See you later, Sakura. We'll continue this _game _tomorrow!"

The rosette watched as the group left. From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a blonde-haired girl looking at her with pity before turning around to walk away with the others. The rosette sighed softly and got up slowly and limped her way into the forest. She knew who that blonde-haired girl was. Yamanaka Ino, her ex-best friend that had abandoned her because of a boy named Uchiha Sasuke. Ino absolutely 'loved' him and assumed that Sakura does too. So she had ended their friendship because of that. The rosette was disappointed to hear that but didn't say anything about it. After that day, the two had never talked to each other about anything that didn't have to do with Sasuke.

Sakura finally arrived in the forest. In front of her was a huge mountain with a beautiful waterfall. The future kunoichi bent down and stared at her reflection in the water. After what seemed like a minute, crystal tears finally started to roll down her pale face. She had been holding back these tears the whole time. Her father had always told her that showing emotion was a sign of weakness, so she tried as hard as she could not to ever cry in front of others. But when Sakura is alone her in the forest, she could just break down and cry whenever she wanted, without having to worry if people would see her. The rosette might look like an emotionless little girl that doesn't know how to show emotion, but on the inside she is actually someone who has to struggle through pain and sadness. Sometimes, Sakura wishes to have a friend who would understand her and help her through this life of pain. Maybe one day, she will find someone who is like that.

**-X-**

**Authors Note:  
**So, was this better than the other version? I hope it was! I would like to have at least 10 reviews before I post the next chapter. So, please review. No flames, I worked hard on this. If you don't like it, then don't bother with reviewing. A question, is there any pairings that you would like me to include in this story? If there is, tell me and I'll try and squeeze it in somewhere. Just make sure that it isn't NejiTen or SasuSaku… By the way, have you guys seen the Shippuuden Movie? If you haven't you should go and watch it now. I love the part where Neji had caught Sakura when she fell! To me, that was a slight NejiSaku moment.

Thanks for reading!

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


	2. Chapter 1: The Two Katanas

**Authors Note:  
**Thanks a lot for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter! The old version of _Kenjutsu Kunoichi_ has been officially deleted.

**-X-**

**Chapter One  
**_-The Two Katanas-_

**-X-**

"Here, Sakura," a woman with long brown hair said. She handed the rosette two katanas. "This is for you."

Sakura took the weapons in her two hands and stared at it for a long time. The two katanas were exactly the same except the colours are opposite. The hilt was blue on one and red on the other. Both of them had a small silver bell ornament hanging off the hilt. The blade glistened in the moon and Sakura ran her little fingers across the black dragon on the blue hilted katana. Sakura looked at it in awe. It was beautiful. But she knew that sooner or later, it was going to be stained with blood.

"You like it?" her mother, Haruka asked with a slight smile. Sakura just numbly nodded her head; her eyes never left the katanas.

"It doesn't have a name so feel free to give it one," Haruka paused and let out a deep sigh. "Sakura, these two weapons are the clan's heirloom. Please take care of them. The reason that I'm handing it over to you is because after I step down as head of the clan, you are going to take over."

The little girl didn't show emotion at all, but on the inside she was very confused. _What? Me, the head of the Haruno clan?_

"Before you could actually take over as the leader, you must first be able to wield these two katanas. They will only accept people who they think is worthy of their power. Tomorrow you're going to learn how to use them properly," the brunette explained.

Then, there was a loud knock on the door. The two Harunos turned towards the sound.

"Come in," Haruka said.

In came a woman in her early twenties. She had waist-length black hair that was tied into a low ponytail. She wore the standard ANBU uniform and had a cat mask strapped into her waist. The woman bowed to Haruka.

"You called, Haruka-sama?" she asked. Her voice was so soothing and it had made Sakura felt comfortable and less stressed.

Haruka smiled at the woman. "How was the mission, Akina?" she asked.

The woman, Akina looked up and smiled. "It was successful," she answered.

Haruka nodded and turned to her daughter, who had been staring at Akina this whole entire time.

"Sakura," Haruka called. The rosette turned towards her mother as soon as her name was called. "This is Haruno Akina, one of our clan's most powerful Kenjutsu users. From tomorrow onwards, she'll be your sensei in the art of Kenjutsu. Treat her with respect."

Sakura nodded and bowed towards the black-haired woman. "Nice to meet you, Akina-sama," Sakura said quietly, finally talking for the first time in this day.

Akina smiled at the girl. _She so cute! _The woman inwardly squealed.

"Nice to meet you too, Sakura-chan!" she chirped sweetly.

Sakura looked up into the older woman's eyes and saw a pair of violet orbs looking at her with kindness. The rosette couldn't help but smile back at her slightly. Haruka was shocked to see her daughter smile. Sakura wouldn't even smile at her, her own mother and here she is smiling at a woman that she had just met. The brunette felt a slight pang of jealously towards Akina but immediately brushed it off.

"So, Akina, do you accept this mission?" the head of the Haruno clan questioned. The said woman looked up at Haruka and smiled. "Of course, Haruka-sama."

**-X-**

The next day, Akina started to teach the little rosette about Kenjutsu. Much to Akina's surprise, Sakura processed quickly through the entire lesson. The only thing that she would have to work on was her footing.

"Now, spread your legs apart…No! Not _that_ far apart!"

It seems that it would take a while before Sakura would actually be able to get the hang of using katanas.

Finally after weeks of training, it seems that the rosette is also starting to warm up around others after spending so much time with Akina. Sakura is now starting to talk more and has become good friends with the older woman. Now she is ready to learn some of the basic Haruno jutsu.

"Sakura-chan!" Akina called in a sing-song voice. The eight year old girl looked up from her training and turned to see the black haired woman grinning at her.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

Akina's grin was still attached to her face when she spoke. "You've done so well, Sakura-chan. I think it's time for you to begin learning some jutsu from the Haruno clan," she announced. "I'm proud of you!"

The little girl couldn't help but let out a small grin of her own. "Thank you, onee-chan," Sakura said with some excitement hanging off from her words.

Akina smiled at the nickname that Sakura got for her.

"But…"

"But what?" the rosette asked.

"In order for you to use any type of jutsu properly, you must first master chakra control."

"…Chakra control?"

"That's right, and in order to do that, we'll be climbing trees!" Akina chirped.

Sakura's eyes threatened the bulge out of their sockets. Climb tree?! How would that help her? Sakura is going to be a kunoichi one day not a tree hugger!

"What do you mean I have to climb trees?" the rosette asked as she calmed down slightly.

Akina nodded. "That's right. You're going to climb tree, _without_ using your hands. Why don't I do a demonstration instead?" The ANBU focused chakra onto the soles of her feet and started walking up the tree slowly, leaving a wide-eyed girl staring at her from below.

"You see, Sakura-chan. That's how you climb trees without chakra. Focus chakra to the soles of your feet and start walking. But in your case, you might as well run instead," Akina explained, hanging upside down from a tree branch.

She reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a kunai and threw it at Sakura's feet. "Here. Use this and mark the highest point that you can run up to. When you do it the next time, try and get past that mark. I want you to do it until you get to that top or run out of chakra."

Sakura nodded and picked up the kunai and started concentrating hard. _Come on! _She thought angrily when she felt no chakra. Then, a burst of chakra appeared in her feet, making the girl's eyes snap open. _I got it!_ Sakura then started to run towards the tree with full force.

Hours had past since Sakura's training and she was so tired. Luckily, Akina had received a sudden mission, so that would mean she wouldn't be able to train the rosette anymore. Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she heard that. She had wanted to take a break from the moment she had started on climbing trees. But she wasn't like those people who would whine and complain about it, so she had kept her mouth shut.

So here she is now, limping home tiredly with her eyes barely opened. If she was someone else, she would have collapsed an hour ago.

"Well, well. Would you look who it is?" a familiar voice said.

The tired girl turned and saw the purple-haired girl with her gang behind her. They smirked at her weakened state.

Sakura inwardly groaned with annoyance. She wasn't in the mood to deal with them now. "What do you want, Ami?"

The said girl smirked. "Nothing, Billboard Brow," she said, using the nickname that Ino used to call Sakura with.

Ami looked at Sakura's state and knew that it was a perfect time to mock her. "What happened to you? Did you get into a fight and lose. Well, I guess that isn't a surprise seeing as how you're so weak!" she sneered.

Sakura glared at her. "Why can't you just leave me alone, Ami?" she said with gritted teeth, trying to contain her anger.

"Because you're fun to annoy." With a snap of her fingers, the two boys from Ami's group grabbed both of Sakura's arms roughly, making her wince.

"Teach her a lesson, boys!" Ami commanded.

The boy who grabbed her right arm lifted his fist and was about to punch her, but it was stopped halfway by another hand. Sakura looked up at her saviour and saw that he had long coffee-brown hair that went down to his mid-back. It was tied in a low ponytail. What attracted her attention the most was his beautiful pearl-white eyes. From the looks of it, he was only a year older than her, making him nine years old. The boy gave a fierce glare at Ami, who stepped back in fear.

"What do you think you're doing"' he asked. Veins started to appear at the side of his eyes, making Ami sweat.

"Uh…w-we were j-just having some f-fun," she stuttered as she tried to direct her eyes away from the boy's white eyes. Somehow the boy's eyes had made her feel very uncomfortable.

"That's not what I call fun," he said coldly.

"Uh, okay; s-sorry, Hyuuga-san." Ami ran away as fast as she can, crying loudly.

Her gang stared at her with disbelief before running after her. "Ami!" they cried.

The boy snorted at the sight. _Pathetic, _he thought. Then he turned to Sakura, who just sat there on the ground in slight shock.

He sighed and walked over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at the Hyuuga. When the boy had seen her sea-green eyes, he felt himself being pulled in. They were just so…mesmerizing.

"Are you alright?" he asked again, with his hand out, ready for her to take.

"I'm okay," Sakura muttered, grasping his hand. She was surprised at how warm it felt. When he had been talking earlier, he had seemed so cold. "Who are you?"

"Hyuuga Neji," the coffee haired boy introduced as he pulled her up from the ground. "What about you?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Thanks for helping me." _Even though I didn't needed any help, _the rosette added in her thoughts.

Neji nodded. "Try and be more careful," he said, giving her a faint smile that was barely visible, but Sakura saw it and couldn't help but wonder how cute he was. _Wait, cute? _Sakura shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head.

"Goodbye, Sakura," Neji said and began to walk off.

Sakura stared at his back in silence. Something tells her that he would be someone really important to her in the future. The cherry blossom smiled.

_Hyuuga Neji. _

**-X-**

**Author's Note:  
**I quite liked this chapter! Hope you did too! I need ten more reviews please. I love reviews! But I hate flames, so no flames! Thanks for reading!

**-X-**

**The Pretty List:**  
_Sakura4eva_  
_AoiTsubasa_  
_XInnerXRaX_  
_nejisakura_  
_Lady V-chan_  
_Schellin_  
_SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura_  
_Dark-Rei-Cloud_  
_Chocolate Cherry-Chan_  
_XxMiyakaxX_  
_Chocolat-Chan_  
_crazilyinsanelady _

Thanks a lot for reviewing!

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


	3. Chapter 2: Training Day

**Author's Note:  
**I am so sorry for the late update! I've been so busy with homework and assignments. Hope this chapter can make up for my lateness at updating.

**-X-**

**Chapter Two  
**_-Training Day-_

**-X-**

"Listen up, Sakura," Akina began. "Now that you have mastered chakra control, I think it's time for you to learn some jutsu that you could use with your katanas."

"Okay!" Sakura was barely able to contain her excitement. She let out a wide grin. The rosette was getting sick of climbing trees every single day. She had gotten a lot, as in A LOT of splinters from it.

"What jutsu will you be teaching me, Aki-neechan?" the rosette asked the woman.

Akina smiled down at the excited girl. "Why don't I show you first," she suggested.

Without waiting for Sakura's reply, the ANBU got out her own katana. Its hilt is crimson with diamond patterns. The blade was a bit old but is still capable of slicing something easily. It had a dark purple dragon painted onto the blade. Akina got in position and turned to a tall tree. She concentrated her chakra into her blade and focused. Sakura looked at Akina's katana and saw that the blade glowed with a faint lavender colour.

_Wow, _Sakura thought.

For a few minutes, Akina did nothing but then she opened her eyes and swung her katana, cutting through the air. Nothing happened but then Sakura felt a sudden breeze and heard a loud bang. The rosette turned towards the noise and was shocked at what she saw. The tree that was once tall was now on the lying on the ground, sliced into pieces.

"C-cool," Sakura said in awe.

She didn't even see the woman's blade even come close to touching the tree. It was as if a strong blade of wind sliced right through it.

Akina straightened her position and unsheathed her katana back to its original place. "That jutsu is called _Kaze no Yaiba_. It's one of the most basic Haruno jutsu. All most every single member of our clan knows it. I expect you to know it as-"

But the black-haired kunoichi got cut off by the excited cherry blossom. "That jutsu was so cool! What do I do? Tell me. Tell me!" Sakura demanded.

Akina sweat dropped at the overenthusiastic girl. She sighed and smiled. "Hold your horses, Sakura-chan. We first need to which element of chakra you have," she said.

Sakura stopped bouncing up and down and looked at the woman confusedly.

"Element? What do you mean by that?"

"I need to know which element you have. For example, I have the wind element so I was able to use that jutsu. Do you get it?" Akina asked.

"U-uh, yeah…I get it," Sakura lied, not wanting to admit that she didn't know a single thing the woman was talking about.

"Alright," Akina started.

She reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out two pieces of blank paper. "This paper will react to your chakra. If your element is fire, it burns. If you're water it'll get wet. If you're earth it'll crumble. If you're lightening it'll scrunch up and finally, if you're wind it will split in half." The ANBU focused her chakra into the paper and it split in half. "See."

Sakura nodded her and Akina handed the girl the paper. "Focus your chakra into the paper," she instructed.

Sakura closed her eyes and focused. For a minute nothing had happened but then the rosette felt the paper heating up. Her eyes quickly snapped open and looked at the paper. It slowly started to split in half.

"So, I'm wind?" Sakura asked. Akina opened her mouth, about to answer but then the paper started to get wet.

_What? _Akina thought astound.

_Wh-what's going on? _Sakura thought, panicking slightly. Then finally the paper burned and Sakura quickly let of it to prevent her hand getting caught on fire.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, turning to the kunoichi.

Akina had on a serious expression. _There is no way that an eight year old could have three elements. I'm twice her age and I only have two, _Akina thought, looking down at the confused girl. _I've got to inform Haruka-sama about this._

"Aki-neechan? What's going on? What chakra element do I have?" Sakura asked impatiently. She is now eager to know what element she has after witnessing what had happened.

"That doesn't matter right now," Akina stated, making Sakura pout cutely. "I'll just teach you the _Kaze no Yaiba _jutsu."

"Does that mean I have the wind element?"

Akina hesitated a bit. "Well, y-yeah," she said. It wasn't a lie because it's true. She does have the wind element, along with fire and water.

"Awesome!" Sakura exclaimed. "So how do I perform the jutsu?" she asked, getting her katana out.

The ANBU smiled at her student. "Like what you did with the paper, except focus your chakra into your blade. Then swipe your blade at the target and at that moment, push all the chakra from the blade out. Try it."

Sakura nodded and turned to a tree. She positioned herself and focused a lot of her chakra into her blade. Her blade then started to glow like Akina's did when she was demonstrating. The rosette swiped the katana powerfully at the tree while releasing her chakra. The two felt a strong breeze but only a few branches were cut off.

"Try and work on your timing," Akina said. Sakura nodded and tried it again. She still didn't get it but is improving quickly.

"Keep it up, Sakura-chan!" Akina encouraged.

**-X-**

A young boy stood in front of the monument. His pearl-white eyes stared at a name.

_**Hyuuga Hizashi **_

Tears threatened to fall from his eyes but he just won't let them. A sudden pain then shot through his forehead. He clutched his bandaged forehead in pain.

_Stupid mark, _he thought angrily.

The boy ran into the forest with tears finally streaming down his slightly pale face.

**-X-**

"Alright, that's enough," Akina spoke.

Sakura stood in the forest clearing, panting harshly. She turned to the older woman angrily.

"But I almost got it! Please let me try just one more time!" the rosette begged. Akina frowned with slight impatience. "No, Sakura-chan. You're almost out of chakra."

'But-!"

"No excuses, Sakura-chan!" Akina snapped, making the girl's mouth snap shut. She had never heard the woman yell at her like that before. "You can't waste your chakra. You'll faint from exhaustion. I don't want that to happen to you."

Sakura grumbled but nodded her head.

"Let's go. You can practice more tomorrow. I have a mission so I won't be able to help you. When I get back, I expect you to have mastered the jutsu," the black haired kunoichi said. She then disappeared in a flurry of black petals.

Sakura frowned and stared at the spot where she had been. Then a grin broke out on her face.

_One more time won't hurt. Besides, Aki-neechan won't know a thing. _Sakura giggled and did the jutsu again.

"I got it!" she exclaimed as she saw the tree being sliced to pieces.

She grinned to herself and decided to head back. Suddenly her vision started to go blurry and she fell forward.

**-X-**

Neji clutched his forehead while running blindly through the Konoha Forest. His eyes were red from crying from the pain of the mark and his father's death. He arrived at a clearing and leaned again the trunk of a tree. The boy's eyes opened and saw that trees had been cut down. Neji dried his tear and thought, _what happened here? _His eyes scanned the area and finally landed on a rosette lying face flat on the ground. With a worried expression clear on his face, Neji rushed towards her and turned her body over so he could see her.

_Isn't she the girl that I saved a few days ago? _He wondered. He spotted a beautiful katana in her hand. How could someone like her have such a dangerous weapon in hand, he wondered.

"Oi, wake up," Neji shook Sakura lightly.

Sakura groaned in annoyance. "Five more minutes, okaa-sama," she muttered. Neji's eye twitched slightly at being called mother.

"Wake up," he said louder with slightly gritted teeth.

Sakura eyes snapped open and sprang up, startling Neji. "I'm sorry, okaa-sama. I didn't mean to steal the chocolate cookies!" she blurted out.

Neji's jaw almost dropped at the sight of the rosette. Was this the same girl that he rescued a few days ago? She's like a completely different person.

"Sakura," Neji said, grabbing Sakura's attention.

"Huh? Neji-san? What are you doing here?" she asked.

Neji's eye twitched again in annoyance. "I should be the one asking you that question."

**-X-**

Yamanaka Ino walked briskly through the forest, looking at all the different flowers that she had passed.

"Cool!" she exclaimed, looking at a yellow sunflower. Then a rustle in the bushes caught her attention. Slightly startled, Ino turned to the where the sound had come from.

"Wh-who's there?" she asked, starting to get a bit nervous.

When no reply came, the blonde walked with caution towards the bush. Then a brown creature jumped out, making Ino scream.

"Ahh!"

The creature was startled and it jumped away. The Yamanaka collapsed onto the forest floor panting slightly.

"Calm down, Ino. It was just a squirrel," she told herself. 'Y-yeah, there's no need to be scared.' She laughed nervously to herself, trying to calm down. Who would have thought that Ino was scared of squirrels?

"…so you were training? Here, alone in the middle of the forest?"

Ino's ears perked up at the sound of a boy's voice. Her curiosity got the best of her so she walked towards the sound.

"I wasn't alone. Aki-neechan was with me."

Ino hid in a nearby bush to listen to the conversation. She knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop but she just couldn't help it. She decided if the conversation was getting too personal, then she'll leave.

_Isn't that Sakura? _The blonde thought. Why would a girl like Sakura be with the Hyuuga Neji, the young genius of the Hyuuga clan?

"What were _you _doing here, Neji-san?" Sakura asked. For a minute there, the rosette saw sadness in his eyes but it was gone in a matter of seconds.

"I…uh…" Neji struggled to answer her question. He didn't really want to tell someone who he had just met about his father. It was just too personal.

Sakura must have realized that so she smiled and said, "It's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It must be something personal, right?"

Neji just nodded, unable to find anything to talk about. Sakura got up and brushed off the dirt from her clothes.

"I got to go. Nee-chan's going to kill me if I don't get back," she said, holding out a hand for Neji. The boy grabbed her hand and pulled himself up.

"Bye!" Sakura said, running off after giving the Hyuuga a cute smile. Neji felt himself smiling back as well. He had never met a person that has ever been that kind to him before. He had a feeling that they were going to get along very well.

Once the two had left, Ino hopped out of the bush and shook off all the leaves on her body. Never in her life had she seen Hyuuga Neji smile at anyone. She had heard all these rumours about the Hyuuga boy being emotionless and cold to anyone that even talks to him. But I guess rumours are just rumours and aren't true at all. Ino sighed and smiled slightly.

_I hope Neji-san is able to make you feel happy. He's kind of cute too, but not as cute as Sasuke-kun of course. _Ino giggled at the thought. She turned and walked back to her house with the young Uchiha clouded around her mind.

**-X-**

**Author's Note:  
**Hope you liked it! I hope to get at least 15 reviews before the next chapter so please review! No flames! The next chapter is going to have a four-year time-skip. That means Sakura will graduate from the academy and will be put into her genin team. Anyways, thanks for reading!

**-X-**

**The Pretty List: **  
_nejisakura_  
_xXxyellow-rose-violinistxXx_  
_emeraldvanvanessa_  
_Vintage-Smiles_  
_Dark-Rei-Cloud_  
_XxMiyakaxX_  
_Dria-Chan_  
_SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura_  
_minniemousemom_  
_.Angel.X_  
_Setsugekka_  
_the-hope-of-none_  
_blossomheartxoxo_  
_Chocolat-Chan_  
_MinaKoi9_  
_Shubaltz Crazist_  
_AoiTsubasa_  
_Bloody Shinuki_

Thanks for reviewing!

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


	4. Chapter 3: A Skip In Time

**Author's Note:  
**I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been so busy for these last few months. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

**-X-**

**Chapter Three  
**_-A Skip In Time-_

**-X-**

Four years had gone by in the blink of an eye and it was finally time for the genin graduation. Sakura, who is now twelve years old, hopped out of her bed and grabbed her clothes. It was a red sleeveless zip-up shirt with the Haruno clan symbol on the back. She also had on a creamy-white, slightly baggy pants. Around her waist was a simple black sash. Sakura had tied her waist length hair into a high ponytail and her headband was put around her neck. Smiling in satisfaction, Sakura then grabbed her two katanas, which she calls, Futago no Tatsu, and strapped them around her slim waist. After putting on her standard pair of shinobi sandals, Sakura ran out of the room with a grin on her face. The kunoichi was so excited about the graduation that she didn't even realize where she was headed, therefore she collided with someone.

The person laughed and Sakura immediately recognized the voice. "Slow down, Sakura," the person said still laughing slightly.

Sakura looked up and bowed at the person. "Good morning, Aki-neechan!" she chirped happily.

"Morning, Sakura-chan," Akina said with a sincere smile on her face. "You must be excited about the graduation, am I right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm finally going to be a real kunoichi. Some day, I'm going to surpass you, Aki-neechan!"

The black haired woman chuckled lightly. "I'm sure you will, Sakura-chan. But you better hurry or else you're going to be late. You've only got ten minutes."

Hearing that, the rosette gasped. "What?! You're joking!" Sakura shouted. She quickly dashed past the ANBU and headed straight for the door. "See you later!"

Akina smiled disappeared from her face as soon as the rosette was out of sight. The smile was immediately replaced with a frown. _So naïve, _she thought. Shoving the thought to the back of her mind, Akina headed towards the Sandaime's office to receive her mission for the day.

**-X-**

Sakura ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She was not about to embarrass herself by being late on something as important as this. People around the street took a glance at her as she ran past in a flash. _What was that? _Some of the villagers thought. Since they were not shinobis, they couldn't see Sakura at all since she was running as if her life depended on it. The kunoichi then neared a beautiful flower shop and started to slow down. Looking at the building, Sakura's smile disappeared off her face and she looked down.

"See you later, okaa-san!" a voice shouted from inside the shop.

Sakura immediately looked back up, only to find a pair of sky-blue pupil-less eyes staring back at her with slight shock.

"M-morning, Sakura," the girl said, her eyes never left Sakura's.

"Good morning, Ino," Sakura muttered under her breath.

It has been four long years since these two had ever spoken to each other so you could imagine that things would be a bit awkward between them. Even though she wasn't on good terms with Ino, a part of Sakura had always wanted to forget about the past and rebuilt their friendship again. It was the same for Ino. But that's easier said than done, seeing as how these two kunoichis were too stubborn.

The two began walking towards the academy side by side in silence but it was soon broke by the blonde.

"I can't believe that _you _graduated, Sakura." She had never meant for it to sound offensive but it had just slipped out before Ino could hold it in. She soon realized her mistake when the blonde saw a flicker of sadness in her ex-friend's eyes, but it was gone within seconds.

"I'm not the same little girl I used to be. We're both kunoichis now so we better start acting like one," Sakura stated calmly. The rosette picked up her speed and walked past Ino.

"I don't have time to deal with you, Ino. We're rivals from now on."

With one last glare, Sakura disappeared out of Ino's sight and headed towards the academy. The blonde was shocked, is this really the Sakura that she knew? A small smile came onto Ino's face.

_You've changed, Sakura. _She then looked up with a determined grin. _But so have I!_

Then she continued her way towards the academy.

**-X-**

Sakura had arrived at the academy with three minutes left to spare. Letting out a sigh of relief, the rosette took a seat next to the first person that she saw, which happened to be Hinata. Sakura sat down and the midnight-blue haired girl next to her blushed lightly and started playing with her fingers.

"U-um, g-good morning, Sakura-san," the Hyuuga heiress said meekly.

Sakura turned to her and Hinata immediately looked back down and blushed even more. The rosette was confused, who was this girl anyway and how did she know her name?

Unsurely, Sakura asked politely, "Do I know you?"

The girl nodded slowly and looked up to meet the most beautiful pair of sea-green yes that she has ever seen. "Yeah. My name's H-Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata introduced herself while stuttering.

Sakura looked up in interest. "Hyuuga? Are you perhaps related to Neji-san?" the kunoichi said, pointing at the boy with long dark-brown hair who was sitting in the corner desk.

Hinata nodded. "Yes," she paused for a while to take in a deep breath. Sakura gestured for her to continue. "H-he's my cousin."

Sakura eyes widened. "Hyuuga Neji, the Rookie of the Year, is your _cousin_?!" the rosette shrieked, making everyone in the room turn their attention to them. Hinata blushed, even though everyone was looking mainly at Sakura, she is still embarrassed about attracting a lot of attention.

Sakura let out a breath that she had been holding and sat back down but she was then called upon by a deep voice. "Is there a problem with me being Hinata-sama's cousin, Sakura?"

Sakura turned around towards the voice, only to find herself staring into a pair of pearl-white orbs. The rosette was mesmerized.

Neji cocked his head slightly in confusion, even though his face didn't show it. "You still haven't answered my question, Sakura," he said.

Sakura was immediately snapped out of her trance by the sound of his voice. "H-huh? N-no, I was just surprised that's all." Sakura laughed nervously and blushed slightly, although you could barely see it. Apparently, our little cherry blossom has a small crush on the Hyuuga genius ever since he had found her alone in the forest four years ago. Even though Neji may be called a genius, he couldn't even figure that out and remained clueless, or was it because Sakura did a great job of hiding it? Either way, Sakura is not about to let her secret slip out to anyone, especially not Neji, at least not until she's ready to tell him.

"Hn," Neji grunted, walking back to his seat, but not before casting Hinata a slightly dark look. Hinata faltered slightly but then regained her composure.

Sakura stared after him longingly before taking her seat as well. Hinata knew something was up with Sakura. After all, Sakura had looked at Neji in the way Hinata would look at a certain blonde knuckle-head.

"U-um, you seem to be i-interested in Neji-niisan, a-am I correct?" the midnight- blue haired couldn't resist asking. She had gotten an answer when she received a blush from the rosette kunoichi.

Sakura crossed her arms and turned away in embarrassment. How could this one girl that she just met today already know about her secret?

"What are you talking about," Sakura said, trying to keep herself calm. "Me interested in Hyuuga Neji? As if!" the rosette scoffed.

_Denial's the first step! _Hinata thought happily. She smiled and shook her head slightly.

"W-whatever you say, Sakura-san."

When Hinata was still eight years old she had heard his cousin talking about a pink-haired girl that he met and the raven-haired girl knew immediately that her cousin had finally found a real friend. She was so happy for him at that time but then, tragedy just had to strike. Hyuuga Hizashi, Neji's father was pronounced dead a few days later after their meeting. Hinata had always thought that Sakura would be the one that would be able to thaw out Neji's cold heart, but it seems like his father's death had froze it once again. Neji had been a lot colder to everyone around him, especially Hinata and her father, Hyuuga Hiashi. But every time the Hyuuga heiress had seen Neji with the pink-haired girl, she could always see a bit of happiness within his eyes. It seems that Neji still hold a soft spot for Sakura.

The sound of laughter had snapped Hinata right out of her thoughts. Sakura was rolling around on the floor laughing her ass off. Her finger was pointing shakily in a direction. The Hyuuga's eyes followed the direction of her finger and gasped at what she had seen. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were currently _lip-locked_?! The two finally broke apart and spat out their spit in disgust.

"N-Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke growled.

"Not if I kill you first!" Naruto countered, spitting out his last bit of saliva.

Hinata wanted to cry, very badly. Not for herself but for what will happen to Naruto, seeing as how the Sasuke fan-club began cracking their knuckles at the spiky-haired blonde. But in her head, she was furious.

_What the hell! I was supposed to be Naruto-kun's first kiss! _Her anger was hidden beneath all the tears that were threatening to fall. _I'll make you pay, Sasuke!_

Sakura finally regained her composure and sat back on her seat and found Hinata clenching her fist and glaring slightly at the Uchiha.

The rosette backed away from heiress. _Woah, what's gotten into her? _Sakura thought.

First she was Miss. Stutters and then she is sending out a wave of killing intent. Sakura thought for a moment. How come she's glaring at Sasuke? How come she blushes at the blonde? And how come _stalks_ the blonde?! Sakura put the three pieces together and got her answer. She turned to Hinata with a sly grin on her face.

"You like Naruto, don't you, Hinata," the rosette teased. This was payback for teasing her earlier about Neji. All the killing intent that was around Hinata seemed to have disappeared and she had turned back into the usual shy girl that she was before.

"W-what a-are y-you t-talking a-about?"

Sakura knew that she was lying right away. One, Hinata's blush is back and is as red as a ripe tomato and two, her stuttering was twice as worst.

"I-I d-don't like N-Naruto-kun."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Right," she said sarcastically.

This is it. Sakura is going to find a way to get those two together no matter what. But it is going to be quite difficult seeing as how Hinata is too shy while Naruto on the other hand is too dense. But either way, the rosette would not give up!

The two kunoichis continued talking to each other like they were best friends, unaware that two people, one with a pair of pearl-white eyes and the other with sky-blue eyes were staring at them with a frown. After another minute, their sensei, Umino Iruka finally arrived.

"Sorry to make you wait. I had to go speak with the Hokage," the chuunin explained to his class. "Now, before you can be a real shinobi you must be sorted into a team of three. I will now read out the teams."

Murmuring started to occur within the room that they were in. Some (mostly girls) were hoping to be with Neji and Sasuke and were crossing their fingers tightly. Neji rolled his eyes at the sight.

_Pathetic._

"I hope I'm with you, Hinata," Sakura whispered to the girl next to her. The midnight-blue haired girl nodded in agreement.

"Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto's head snapped up and listened more carefully. _Please be Sakura-chan! Please be Sakura-chan! _He chanted in his head.

"Haruno Sakura…"

"Yeah! I'm with Sakura-chan!" Naruto interrupted.

Iruka's vein popped. "Naruto, shut up and let me continue."

The said boy did what he was told.

Iruka cleared his throat. "Where was I…oh yes, and Hyuuga Neji will be the last member of Team Seven."

There was a moment of silence, and then…

"WHAT?!" half of the kunoichis in the classroom shouted. Obviously they were rabid Neji fan-girls.

"Hn." Neji remained emotionless, but truthfully he was so relieved. Sure he got stuck with the loudest shinobi in history and a pink-haired kunoichi with an anger management problem, but it was better than being stuck with a bunch of fan-girls that seemed like they would rape you when you're alone. Neji inwardly shivered at the thought.

Sakura was shocked. Not because she was stuck with Naruto but because she got put on the same team as Hyuuga Neji. The rosette stared at the boy's back and felt herself blush slightly. She then turned to Hinata and found herself looking at the ground in sadness. Sakura's blush disappeared and was immediately replaced with a concerned look. She knew that the heiress wanted to be with Naruto but Sakura had already taken her place. Hinata looked as if she was about to cry at any second. Sakura felt sorry for the girl, but on the other hand, she looks just so cute when she's about to burst into tears.

"Team Eight, Hyuuga Hinata…"

The said girl looked up slightly.

"Inuzuka Kiba…"

A boy with markings on his face smirked.

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

Hinata's frown slowly began to disappear off her face and was replaced with a small smirk. The wave of killing intent was back as well and Sakura backed away from Hinata.

_Forget what I said earlier, _she thought. _This is so not cute! _

No doubt that this will give Hinata plenty of chances to get her revenge on Sasuke for stealing Naruto's first kiss. The thought of that had made Hinata steam up in anger once again. She is going to make Uchiha Sasuke pay.

"Team Ten, Yamanaka Ino…"

Sakura turned her attention to her ex-friend, now rival, who had arrived at the academy two minutes after her. The two glared slightly at each other before turning back to Iruka.

"Nara Shikamaru…" A guy with black-spiky hair in a ponytail yawned.

"And Akimichi Chouji."

A brown-haired boy continued to munch on his chips.

Iruka folded up the piece of paper that he was reading off and pocketed it in his pocket. "That's all the teams. You will meet you're jounin sensei after lunch. You are dismissed."

As soon as he said that, everyone got up from their seats and rushed out of the classroom to have lunch with their new teammates.

"Hinata, why don't you and I have our lunch together," Sakura suggested.

Hinata had finally stopped smirking evilly and turned to the pink-haired kunoichi and smiled. "S-sure."

The two headed outside towards a stone bench and sat down. They each got out their obentou and started eating happily but were soon interrupted by a loud voice.

"Sakura-chan!" a familiar blonde shouted running towards the two kunoichis.

Hinata blushed immediately and almost dropped her lunch.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she whispered so that only Sakura could hear.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, wondering what he could be doing here.

Naruto stopped to a halt and grinned idiotically. Hinata turned even redder than ever. He had looked so cute like that.

"Sakura-chan, I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me, since we are a team," he said.

Sakura blinked in confusion, and then looked at the girl beside her and back at Naruto again. A great idea then came into her head.

"Sure, but can you stay with Hinata for a while," Sakura said getting up from her seat and started to walk off. "I'll be back!"

_Not, _the rosette added in her thoughts evilly.

Hinata stared at the back of her retreating friend. _Traitor! _She screamed in mind. Naruto shrugged and sat down in Sakura's spot and looked at the girl beside him, who had turned red once again.

"Hey, Hinata," he said, leaning a bit closer to the blushing heiress.

Hinata backed away, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Y-yes?" she asked meekly. _Sakura! Where are you? Don't leave me here!_

"Do you like…" Naruto's breath fanned on her face as he reached inside his kunai pouch.

Hinata began to panic. Is he going to ask if she liked him? Is it possible that he had figured it out?

"Do you like…"

Hinata gulped. _Here it comes! _

"Do you like ramen?" he said, pulling out a ramen cup.

And that is how Naruto had killed Hinata.

**-X-**

**Author's Note:  
**Thanks a lot for reading. Fifteen more reviews please! I worked hard on this chapter. And please no flames!

**-X-**

**The Pretty List: **  
_Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha_  
_nejisakura_  
_Akahayate_  
_Chocolat-Chan_  
_MinaKoi9_  
_Mayflowerz 411_  
_XxMiyakaxX_  
_Dark-Rei-Cloud_  
_plutprincess_  
_Icecream Skittles Addict_  
_Yumeria Sendai_  
_Sadistic-Bitch_  
_Blackscarlet47_  
_h3rshy675_  
_AnImE AdDiCt 101_  
_SakuraHime27_  
_WhiteIceDragon_

Thank you all for reviewing!

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


	5. Chapter 4: Anger And Sorrow

**Author's Note: **  
Alright I'm back! I'm really sorry for not updating in such a long time. I would have got this out for you sooner but my internet connection was being stupid. I've lost interest in Naruto ever since Itachi died! Why?! Why did he have to die?! And why the hell did he have to have a lover?! Lucky bitch… At least Neji's still alive and well. But after re-reading some NejiSaku fics I've got my inspiration back and I'm obsessed with Neji once again! For those who have read my other story _Still Doll_ you would know that I've put up an author's not saying that I'll be putting all my other stories except for _Still Doll_ on hold until its finished, but I've decided to make an exception of just this story. As for the others, they're all on hold until further notice. I will only be working on _Still Doll _and _Kenjutsu Kunoichi _from now on. By the way, I was wondering if I should do a pairing for Hinata as well in this story. If so, which one? The choices are NaruHina and SasuHina, nothing else. I love both of these pairings so I don't mind. Please vote in a review or in my profile. As for Hinata's revenge (see last chapter) it will come later in the story. Now, on with chapter four!

**-X-**

**Chapter Four**  
_-Anger And Sorrow-_

**-X-**

After having a break the newly graduated students all piled back into the classroom to wait for their jounin instructor. It wasn't long before most the teams met their new jounin sensei. Now, there was just Naruto, Sakura and Neji left in the classroom.

Time passed by slowly and their sensei still hasn't arrived. The three were starting to get impatient, though Naruto was the only one that showed it.

Finally, he snapped.

"I can't take this anymore!" He exclaimed. "I should be at Ichiraku, not here, waiting for someone who doesn't even show up on time!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Sakura said annoyed. "Your shouting is giving me a headache."

The blonde haired genin pouted and looked away with his arms crossed. Then, a brilliant idea sprung into his mind. He grabbed the chalkboard eraser from the front of the classroom and stuck it on the top of the door.

"What are you doing?" the rosette asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto snickered. "This is his punishment for being late. As soon as he opens the door, it'll fall right on him," he said excitedly.

Neji snorted. "You'd really think an elite jounin would fall for something that childish?"

Naruto was about to retort but as he opened his mouth, a gloved hand slid through the door and slowly slid it open. Just as the eraser was about to fall on the figure below, a hand shot up instinctively and caught the object, sending chalk dust all over the place. The person inspected the eraser with a frown.

"Which one of you is responsible for this?" the person asked. Judging from the tone, this person was definitely a female.

When the dust cleared away, Sakura gasped.

"Aki-neechan?!" she almost shrieked.

Akina's lips curved into a smile. "Hello, Sakura-chan," she greeted; her violet coloured eyes shone with kindness.

Naruto looked flabbergasted. "W-wait! You know each other?!" he asked with disbelief.

How in the world does Sakura knows such a beautiful person?

Akina was wearing her standard ANBU uniform and had her silky black hair tied up in a high ponytail with a purple ribbon. But the one thing that caught Naruto's attention was her pair of stunning violet colour eyes, staring down at him blankly.

He gulped. Although she was a sight to see, there was something about her eyes that sent shivers down his spine. Those orbs held kindness yet it also held hatred and coldness directed towards him. It might have been the trick of the light but for a second there, Naruto thought that her eyes had turned into black slits that made her resemble a dragon, but it was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Are you our sensei?" Neji asked her.

Akina shifted her gaze towards the Hyuuga and gave him a sweet smile. She knew exactly who he is. Hyuuga Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga Clan.

_Also known as Sakura-chan object of affection_, she added at the back of mind and gave off a chuckle.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm _one_ of your senseis," she said, emphasizing on the 'one', though her tone was somewhat bitter.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.

The black haired woman shrugged. "It's not of any importance to you right now. Instead, why don't we get to know each other?" she asked, then gestured for them to follow her.

She led them up toward the rooftops and leaned against the silver railings, while the team sat down on the wooden bench.

"Now then, why don't you tell me more about yourselves? I know a lot about Sakura-chan, but hardly anything about you two."

"Can you start us off, Aki-nee-, er, I mean Akina-sensei?" Sakura inquired. She figured that now that Akina is her official sensei, she should start calling her with the correct honorific.

Akina beamed. "Sure thing," she chirped then got into a thinking position. "Hm, let's see…My name is Haruno Akina. Age: 25. Rank: ANBU, but is currently jounin for the time being. What I like is katanas, my friends, dango and Sakura-chan!" She gave a huge grin, which the rosette returned.

"My hobbies are training, reading and missions I guess and my dream is to be an ANBU Captain," she finished.

"What do you hate, sensei?" Sakura asked.

The violet eyed woman's eyes immediately darkened and narrowed. She gave Naruto a quick glance before closing her eyes.

"Demons," she stated coldly. "I positively _hate_ demons."

Naruto shivered. He couldn't help but think that she was directing that statement towards him. But what had possessed her to hate him so much, he wondered. The blonde had a feeling that he and Akina would not get along with each other, but at the same time he wants to find out more about her. Deep down, underneath all that anger and hatred, Naruto knew that Akina is not a bad person.

"Akina-sensei, are you alright?" Sakura asked with concern when Akina's eyes suddenly shone with sadness.

The ANBU force a fake smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why don't you introduce yourselves to me, starting with you," she said, looking directly into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto nodded, unable to tear himself away from those orbs that shone with bitterness.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Age: 12. I love ramen and Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed.

Akina's eyes narrowed at this.

Sakura's eyes lit up in embarrassment and anger. "Naruto!" she whacked in over the head.

"Ow!" the blonde exclaimed, clutching his aching head.

Neji rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Yeah, anyway, I hate the three minute wait for the ramen to cook and Uchiha Sasuke. My hobbies are eating ramen and training and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. That way, people will stop disrespecting me!" Naruto finished determinedly.

Akina stared at him with slight amazement. He has been treated unfairly by all the villagers in Konoha and yet he still wants to gain their respect. Where is his determination coming from?

_He sure is something._

The corner of her mouth lifted upwards for a second but then immediately dropped back down.

_No, don't give in to him. Remember what he did Akina. He was the one responsible for _his_ death._ She glared at the grinning blonde. _It's his entire fault!_

"Okay, I'm up next," Sakura's voice snapped her back into reality. "My name is Haruno Sakura. Age: 12. I like training, katanas and…"

For a split second there, Akina noticed that the rosette's eyes shifted towards the coffee haired lad that was sitting on her left. Akina let out a mischievous grin.

_It's seems my little student is in love~!_ She thought happily. From what she knew, the Hyuuga family is a very honourable and respected clan in Konoha and also, the Harunos also got along quite well with them. She took a closer look at Neji and had to admit that he was quite good looking. No, good looking was not powerful enough. Sexy was better word to describe him. If she was younger, Akina was certain that she would be in love with him. After all, no girl can resist him.

"Akina-sensei, are you even listening to me?" Sakura asked impatiently.

"Yeah, I am. Please continue," the black haired woman waved her hand lazily at her.

Sakura frowned but continued with her introduction anyway. "What I hate are dishonesty, traitors and fan girls," she shivered at the last one. Neji could help but nod in agreement. After all, there was nothing worse than raging fan girls.

"My hobbies are practicing my Kenjutsu and reading. Finally, my dream is to become the best Kenjutsu kunoichi in the world," she grinned.

Akina smiled. "That's nice Sakura but you might also want to focus on your other areas, like Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu as well. It's always good to have extra skills," she told her.

Sakura nodded.

"Now then, you're next," Akina turned towards Neji.

Neji nodded. "My name is Hyuuga Neji. Age: 13. My hobbies are training and meditating," he concluded.

"What about your likes, dislikes and dream?" Sakura asked curiously.

Neji looked away. "I rather not say," he said; his face void of emotions.

Akina smiled bitterly to herself. Neji must have a bad past as well.

Sighing, she stood up straighter. "Alright then, I can tell that you're an interesting bunch and I'm thrilled to have you as my genin team. But in order for you to be an official genin, you must pass a certain test."

"What?!" Naruto spluttered. "But didn't we already pass our exams. Why the hell do we have to take another test?!"

Sakura and Neji silently agreed with him.

Akina ignored the outrageous blonde and turned to the other two. "The test begins tomorrow morning at seven sharp. Meet me at the bridge. Don't be late."

With that, she vanished in a flurry of black petals.

Sakura got up and stretched. "Well, I'm going home. See you tomorrow, Naruto, Neji-san," she bid them farewell.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted and kept waving his hand until she was out of sight. "So Neji, you want to go and have some ramen with me?" he turned around to face the Hyuuga prodigy, only to find no one there.

"Huh, where did he go?"

**-X-**

Sakura walked back towards the Haruno manor with a smile on her face. It surprised her that Akina of all people was chosen to be her sensei. She was really grateful about that. It's has been a long time since she had trained with Akina. The black haired woman had always been sent on these high classed dangerous missions these last few months and she hardly had anytime to train the rosette. But now that Akina was her jounin sensei she would be able to spend more time with her. She grinned at the thought of being able to show her how much she has improved.

"Sakura," a voice from behind startled her.

She yelped in surprise and turned around, ready to give the person a piece of her mind but her anger immediately vanished when she realized who it was.

It was Neji.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Neji caught up to her and closed his eyes. "The Hyuuga manor is also in this direction," he stated.

"Oh," she said. For some odd reason, she felt slightly disappointed with his response. Was she hoping that Neji had come to offer her a walk home?

"_Oh, yeah, and then he could kiss you good night," _her inner mocked.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything, Sakura," Neji said, slightly confused.

The rosette blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I was just talking to myself," she said truthfully and laughed nervously.

"Hn," the coffee haired lad snorted.

_I hate you…_ Sakura grumbled at her inner.

Inner Sakura grinned. _"__I love you too!"_

"We're here," Neji stated as they stopped in front of the Haruno manor gates.

"Oh, well…I'll see you tomorrow, Neji-san."

"Neji," he suddenly said.

"Excuse me?"

If Neji wasn't know for being always calm and composed, he would have sighed. "Just call me Neji. No honorific needed," he told her.

Sakura flushed slightly. "Neji," she muttered, testing his name on her tongue.

"Hn?"

"Ah, n-nothing!" she quickly said, walking towards the gates.

The guard bowed at her and opened it for her.

She turned back to Neji and smiled. "Good bye, Neji," she said.

Neji nodded and walked away. It might have been the trick of the light, but for a split second Sakura thought she saw the corner of Neji's mouth tilt upwards into a small smile.

"That's impossible, right?" she asked herself in disbelief, but couldn't help but notice how the microscopic smile had made him seem cuter.

**-X-**

The birds chirped loudly outside the Hokage's office. The Sandaime was going through his paperwork peacefully when all of a sudden someone knocked noisily on the door. Hiruzen sighed, expecting it to either be Naruto or a reporting ninja.

"Come in," he said in a gruff voice.

He raised an eyebrow at the figure that walked into his office. It was Akina. But the look on her face told him clearly that she was not happy.

"What is it, Akina?" he asked, not even wincing when Akina slammed her hands down on his desk.

"Why did you put _him_ on my team?" she seethed out, not caring that she was talking to the Hokage.

Hiruzen closed his eyes. He knew exactly why she came here after hearing that question.

"Is there a problem with my decision?" he countered her with his own question.

"Damn right there is!" she yelled. "How could you let that _demon_ be on my team, much less graduate from the academy?!"

The old man gave the ANBU a stern look. "Akina, calm yourself down. This is not how an ANBU should act," he told her, keeping his tone well balanced.

The woman's anger slowly began to disappear, but her eyes still told the Hokage clearly the she demanded an answer.

"Why…?" she asked in a deathly whisper.

"Naruto is not a demon," that single statement was enough to bring her rage back to life.

"But Hokage-sama-!"

The look on the Hokage's face immediately stopped her sentence from finishing. Hiruzen's face was blank, but his eyes told Akina that he was angry and disappointed.

"I know what you're going through, Akina," Hiruzen told her calmly. "But just remember that you're not the only one that has lost their loved ones and Naruto is not the one at fault here."

Violet eyes slowly closed and she bowed solemnly at the Sandaime. "Please forgive my rudeness, Hokage-sama," she murmured.

Hiruzen nodded. "It's alright," he told her. He knew of her past and couldn't help but forgive the black haired woman.

"Please don't blame Naruto," he reminded her.

Akina raised her head and Hiruzen could see lifeless orbs staring back at him.

"I understand," were her last words before she walked out the door.

The Sandaime sighed. _When is she going to learn that Naruto is not responsible for _his _death?_ He wondered.

**-X-**

Akina allowed her feet to carry her towards the memorial, where all the ninjas that have died in battle have their name carved in the stone. Grey clouds started to roll in but she paid no heed to it. Stopping in front of the stone, she stared at the name etched onto the blue surface.

Finally, her legs gave out.

Her fingers traced the lining of the name tenderly as she spoke his name softly.

"Why did you have to leave me?" she murmured.

Tears slowly began to appear at to corner of her eyes. She rubbed them away furiously, refusing to show weakness. Her eyes glared ahead.

_I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but I refuse to cooperate with Uzumaki Naruto,_ she thought angrily.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the presence of a person behind her. The man's grey eye stared at the back of the Haruno solemnly.

Finally, he decided to speak. "I never knew you were the type of person to sulk over a loss," he remarked.

She quickly turned around to face the person.

Akina scoffed. "I could say the same thing for you. Here to visit your teammates, I see."

The man closed his eyes and shrugged. Then, drops of rain began to fall from the skies.

"Guess I came at a bad time," he commented and turned towards the violet eyed woman, who turned her back towards him.

"We should go," he stated. "I wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

"Why do you care anyway?" Akina grumbled.

The man smiled. "Can't an old friend worry about you," he inquired.

Akina chuckled and stood up.

"Alright then _old_ friend," she said mockingly. "Lead the way."

He rolled his eye. "I'm not _that _old, Akina." After all, there was only a one year difference between them.

"Sure you aren't."

He led her back towards the Haruno manor in silence. Just as Akina was about to step inside the gates, he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

What he said next had surprised her.

"Akina, you should let go of the past," he stated with bitterness in his tone.

Her eyes widened before slowly returning back to their original size. "You know I can't do that," she murmured.

The man remained silent.

"I've got to go," she commented.

He nodded.

"Please let go of my arm."

The grey eyed man slowly let go of her and watched as she slowly walked away from him. She stopped suddenly and turned back to face him with a small smile on her face.

"Thank you, Kakashi…"

Kakashi returned the smile with one of his own.

Finally, the gates closed and Akina disappeared from view. Kakashi sighed and slowly made his way towards his house.

The streets were silent and all that was heard was the sound of raindrops making contact with the cold hard pavement.

**-X-**

**Author's Note: **  
Sorry if it's a bit short but it's better than nothing, right? Twenty more reviews please. Flames are not accepted. Don't forget to vote on your favourite Hinata pairing; NaruHina or SasuHina. Thanks for reading! Please review. I'll try and get the next chapter up more quickly but I won't make any promises. See you in the next chapter! Please check out my other story _Still Doll _as well. It's a Gakuen Alice story though. If you haven't noticed, I changed my penname…again. So please don't accuse me of stealing.

**-X-**

**The Pretty List:**  
_ShreddedHeartHopelessFear_  
_Taimatsu-chan_  
_Kuromi-Tenshi_  
_Fiery Dragon164_  
_Miss Chocolat_  
_Setsugekka_  
_fairy246_  
_nejisakura_  
_Hiboshi_  
_xXxHyuuga-MikanxXx_  
_Sadistic-Bitch_  
_The Sociopathism of Trees_  
_-delicatedesires_  
_WinterMission_  
_All I Want For Xmas Is Ikuto_  
_LixxyChan_  
_.x. 4eva Immortal .x._  
_behindthisgirlshadow_  
_CherryBlossomGirl_  
_Nekozr_  
_Hamano Ayumu_  
_Serene6868_

Thanks a lot for reviewing in the last chapter! I enjoyed reading every single one of your reviews.

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


	6. Chapter 5: The Second Sensei

**Author's Note:**  
-Sigh- I'm kind of disappointed by the lack of reviews in the last chapter. Was it too boring for you to even be bothered with reviewing? I admit that the last chapter wasn't really entertaining but it was needed in order for the plot to progress. Hope this chapter makes up for it a bit. Enjoy! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention this. The Hinata pairing for this story has been decided. Since more people voted for SasuHina than NaruHina, that's the pairing I'm sticking with for Hinata. Sorry to those who dislike that pairing but don't worry, it's only minor.

**-X-**

**Chapter Five**_  
-__The Second Sensei-_

**-X-**

"Sakura?" the quiet voice of a woman inquired as she knocked on the door. "Are you awake?"

Sakura groaned in annoyance. "Just five more minutes," she grumbled underneath the layer of blankets.

"But Sakura you've got to get up. It's already six thirty," the voice was now starting to sound impatient.

The rosette growled. "Go away!" she shouted, though her voice was muffled by the blankets.

_God hasn't anyone ever heard of the word 'sleep' before?!_

Haruka sighed in defeat. "Alright, but please don't forget that you have to meet up with your team in half an hour." With that, the brunette walked off.

Sakura sighed and rolled over. _Yeah, yeah, I know that I have to meet up with my team in half an hour…_

Realization dawned on her and her sea-green eyes immediately snapped open in alarm.

"What the hell! Are you kidding me?!" she shrieked, springing up from the bed. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner, okaa-sama?!"

"I tried, but you just insisted on ignoring me!" her mother shouted back.

She frowned and quickly walked over towards her closet. Quickly removing her pyjamas, Sakura put on a dark red sports bra and a fish net shirt over the top. Next, she pulled out a pair of loose white pants that was perfect for running around in. The rosette had a feeling that she would be doing a lot of that later in the day. She then tied a thin crimson coloured sash around her waist and tied a butterfly knot at the back. After all, she was not going to carry her katanas in her hand all day long.

Walking over to her drawer, Sakura picked up her headband and tied it around her neck loosely. Her hands fingered her pink locks, wondering what she should do with it. Then a sudden image of a certain Hyuuga's hairstyle sprung into her mind.

Sakura grinned and grabbed a black ribbon from her drawer and carefully tied her long hair into a loose and low ponytail. Looking at the time, she gasped realizing that she only had fifteen minutes left. Hastily putting on her red beige jacket, Sakura quickly checked herself over the mirror and grinned in satisfaction.

_"__Not bad, if I do say so myself,"_ Inner Sakura commented while rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

For once in her life she agreed with her inner self. Even though Sakura was not one to fuss about her looks like some kunoichis do, she isn't about to go out into public looked indecent. After all, she is a female.

After securing her katanas, Futago no Tatsu onto her sash, Sakura bolted out of the door and dashed towards the kitchen. She grabbed an energy bar from the cupboard and started devouring the entire thing in just three bites. Without wasting any more time, Sakura ran towards the door and slipped herself into the standard pair of shinobi sandals.

"Bye, okaa-sama!" she shouted.

Without waiting for a response, she left.

_Got to hurry, got to hurry, got to hurry! _She chanted in her head as she flew passed the citizens of Konoha. The people of the streets looked around in confusion. All they had seen was a pink blur rushing passed like the wind.

Once she reached the red bridge, she was shocked to find no one there.

Inner Sakura rolled her eyes. _"And here you thought you were going to be late,"_ she said annoyed.

Sakura sighed and walked across the bridge and lied down on the grass, underneath a shady tree.

She let out a yawn. _Might as well sleep for the time being, _she thought and did just that.

It wasn't until seven minutes later that Naruto had showed up. He blinked in confusion when he noticed the rosette kunoichi fast asleep on the ground.

"Sakura-chan?" he wondered aloud as he made his way towards the girl.

Sakura had curled herself into a ball and had a sweet smile on her face as she slept.

Naruto gulped as his cheeks slowly flushed. _Sakura-chan is so cute,_ he thought; his face inching near hers to get a better look at her sleeping figure.

His face was just a millimetre away from hers before a voice stopped him cold.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The blonde jumped in alarm, only to find a pair of pearl-white staring at him. No, staring would not be the right word. More like _glaring_ at him.

Naruto gulped and laughed nervously. "W-well, uh…you see S-Sakura-chan was on the ground sleeping so I w-was going to wake her up," he stuttered, but the look on the Neji's face clearly told him that he didn't buy what he was saying.

The Hyuuga raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly putting your face close to Sakura's waking her up?" he asked coldly.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. What he heard just now, was it _jealousy_?! Although he wasn't the most observant shinobi in Konoha, Naruto definitely didn't miss the emotion that the coffee haired lad had unconsciously put in the question. Could it be…?

"Well?" Neji asked with his arms crossed.

Naruto loss all the fear he had felt towards him and gave the Hyuuga a glare, with was returned with a raised eyebrow.

The blonde pointed at him with a finger, determination was shown clearly on his face. What he had said next clearly confused the Hyuuga.

"I won't lose to you!" he exclaimed, but before he could comprehend was had happened next, a small fist made contact with his face, sending him a few feet away.

"Shut up, idiot! Some people are trying to sleep!" Sakura seethed in rage as she got up from the ground and gave the blonde her death glare.

Naruto cowered in fear from the angry kunoichi. It was clear now that she was not a morning person.

**-X-**

Neji didn't know what came over him. The moment he had witness the idiot's face close to Sakura's was the moment he snapped.

"What do you think you're doing?" the words slipped out before he had a chance to keep them in.

Neji calmed himself down and thought to himself, _Why am I getting so worked up over something this insignificant?_ But he still couldn't help but ask the question once more to the blonde. _What's wrong with me?_

He inwardly sighed. Even though he didn't know Sakura all that well, Neji still felt the strange urge to protect her. He knew that Sakura was capable enough of taking care of herself but that could never stop Neji from worrying.

The coffee haired lad stifled the urge to chuckle when the rosette had sent Naruto flying with her fist.

_Serves him right, _he thought darkly.

"Oh, hey Neji, I didn't see you there," Sakura waved at the prodigy.

Neji nodded at the greeting but then his eyes were immediately drawn upon her pink locks.

_What the…_

Sakura blinked when she noticed Neji staring at her intensely, or more specifically at her hair. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The rosette fingered her pink locks. _What's wrong with my…oh, I get it!_

She smirked and flipped her hair around to give the Hyuuga a good view of it.

"Like it, Neji? It's the latest style," she said, trying to control her laughter from rising.

Neji's eyes twitched. The hair was in the exact style as his!

Sakura couldn't handle it anymore and laughed.

"Geez, Neji. I didn't know that you were so fussy about your hair," she said, chuckling.

"Hmph," he grunted and looked away.

Naruto got up painfully from the ground and rubbed his head.

_I better stop acting stupid around Sakura-chan,_ he told himself and took a quick look at Sakura and Neji.

"What the hell?!" he shrieked, pointing at both of them. "I'm seeing double!"

Sakura sighed while Neji just rolled his eyes.

After one hour of waiting, their sensei finally showed up.

"Morning," Akina greeted, as she appeared in a flurry of black petals.

Sakura returned her greeting while Neji just nodded, whereas Naruto was pissed.

"You're late!" he shouted, pointing and accusatory finger at the black haired woman.

Akina just gave him a glare before turning back to Neji and Sakura.

"So are you two ready for the test?" she asked, completely ignoring Naruto.

Sakura nodded, not noticing how Akina had only directed the question towards only Neji and herself.

"What's the test about?" Neji inquired.

"You'll find out once _he _arrives," was Akina's answer.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Who's he?"

The violet eyed kunoichi gave her a grin. "You'll find out later. But I'm afraid we'll have to wait for a bit. He has a tendency to be late," she told them.

Naruto let out an exasperated groan.

So they waited…

…and waited…

…and waited.

…

Finally after three hours the person made his appearance. A man wearing a mask covering half his face appeared in a puff of grey smoke. He had silver hair and was wearing the standard jounin outfit.

"Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the road of life," he said smiling.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"His name is Hatake Kakashi. Your other sensei, besides me," Akina answered.

"Now then, let's head over to the training grounds and begin the test," Kakashi said, leading then towards an open field where the memorial stone was located. He stopped and got out two bells.

"This is how the test goes. I have two bells here and your objective is to steal them from me. Whoever doesn't manage to get a bell is to be tied to the stump and watch as I eat lunch right in front of you. I'm sure you guys didn't have a decent breakfast this morning, am I right?"

All three of their stomachs responded with a hungry growl. Naruto and Sakura blushed while Neji looked away; his cheeks slowly turning red as well.

_Yeah, that's right. I only had an energy bar this morning, _Sakura thought, putting a hand on her flat stomach.

"And to make things worse, whoever doesn't manage to get a bell will be sent straight back to the academy," Akina added.

"What?!" Surprisingly, it was Sakura who spoke up instead of Naruto. "What do you mean by that?!"

"Those who aren't able to pass this simple test are not worthy of becoming a shinobi," Kakashi stated.

Sakura calmed down a bit and bit her bottom lip. _This is bad. There are only two bells and I don't want to fight against Neji and Naruto!_

"To make things a bit more challenging, Akina will be here to stop you from succeeding. So you'll have to get pass her first," Kakashi added.

_Oh, great…_ the rosette thought sarcastically.

"You have one hour until the test concludes. Get ready," Akina told them.

The three got into a defensive stance.

Naruto gave Kakashi a glare. _Arg! Why does he have to do this? I don't want to fight Sakura-chan but at the same time I don't want to get sent back to the academy._ He gritted his teeth tightly.

"Ready…"

_Screw him!_

Without thinking, Naruto got out a kunai and charged at the silver haired man. Before he even got close to him, Kakashi disappeared and reappeared behind the blonde with a kunai pointing dangerously close to the pressure point on his neck.

Neji's stance faltered slightly. _He's fast. I didn't even see him move,_ he thought. _This might be tougher than I thought._

"Don't be so hasty. I haven't even said start yet," Kakashi remarked, letting him go.

The jounin turned towards the other two and sighed. "Alright, now that everyone's ready…"

The three got back into their positions.

"Start!"

**-X-**

"Hokage-sama," Iruka bowed to the old man as he entered the room.

"What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering why you had assigned two jounins to Team Seven instead of one," the chuunin inquired.

Hiruzen blew smoke out of his mouth and sighed. "I'm sure you've heard about the Haruno clan," it was a statement more than a question, but nevertheless Iruka nodded.

"Yes, I have."

The Sandaime got up from his chair and turned around to face the window.

"Then you must also know about their Kekkei Genkai, am I correct?"

Iruka blinked confusedly. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Haruno Haruka-san believes that her daughter, Haruno Sakura is about to unlock it and that could be dangerous if she is not under the protection of another Haruno member when that happens. So that's why I assigned Akina to Team Seven to keep a watchful eye on her," Hiruzen explained.

"Then why is Kakashi there?"

Hiruzen turned around to face him. "You should know better than anyone else. Kakashi is there to look after Naruto."

"But couldn't Akina-san do that as well?" Iruka asked.

The Hokage sighed. "Akina doesn't get along with Naruto because of her past," he remarked.

Iruka blinked. "Why's that?"

"It's up to Akina whether she wants to share her life's tale or not," Hiruzen stated with slight annoyance.

"Sorry," Iruka apologized. He realized that he had been a bit too nosy. "Please excuse me."

Hiruzen nodded. "You may leave," he said.

Iruka bowed at him and left the office.

The old man sighed. _I'm sure Kakashi will be able to take care of Naruto, same with Akina when it comes to Sakura. But first they'll have to pass his test, _he thought. _I hope I made the right decision by putting Akina in the same team as Naruto._

He took in a puff of his pipe and smoke covered the atmosphere once again.

**-X-**

**Author's Note:**  
Perhaps that was a bit too short. I'll try and make the next chapter longer. At least ten reviews this time please. It won't even take you a minute. Flames are not accepted but constructive criticism is. If you're going to flame me at least have a good reason otherwise the review/flame will be ignored. See you in the next chapter!

**-X-**

**The Pretty List:  
**_BraeBrae Baby  
__Devils Angel 24-7  
Taimatsu-chan  
Miss Chocolat  
CherryBlossomGirl  
All I Want For Xmas Is Ikuto  
just . me. princess.  
Neko Ninja Hezza  
emoiscool  
Sakruafan12  
SummerRavyn  
Hamano Ayumu  
Tsukikage-sama_

Thank you so much for taking your time to review the last chapter.

**-X-**

_-Setsuna_


End file.
